• Question: what type of problems do you solve?

    Asked by KeLs to John on 14 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: John Allport

      John Allport answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      I solve all sorts of problems, that’s one of the best things about engineering. Just to give you a couple of examples,
      1) How do you measure how much a turbine blade is vibrating when it is at a temperature of 800 degrees C and rotating at 150,000rpm?
      2) How do you pump water out of a well in Africa using solar power, but using no moving parts?
      The first problem I solved (along with the rest of my team) about 5 years ago, it took us over 2 years and cost nearly 2 million pounds to come up with the answer. The second I am still working on, and we’re not sure yet if there is an answer, but we’ll keep trying!

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